Thousands of people have been forced from their homes. The violent fire that has been devastating the ultra-touristy Canary Islands since August 15 has been “stabilized”, say local authorities.
“We can now say that the fire has stabilized, that’s great news,” said the official as the flames have devoured a perimeter of about 90 kilometers for nine days over an area of ??around 15,000 hectares.
Rescuers waited to have a “control and extinction phase and about 48 hours later, if the perimeter has not advanced”, then the fire is considered “stabilized”, detailed Mr. Clavijo. This forest fire, the largest in Spain since the beginning of the year, did not claim any victims but forced thousands of people to flee. Up to more than 12,000 people at the height of the disaster, most of whom have already been allowed to return home.
Tenerife having a total area of ??203,400 hectares, approximately 7% of the island’s area was reduced to ashes. “This does not mean that there will not be a reactivation, warned Fernando Clavijo adding that all ‘means were deployed in a wide perimeter of more than 90 kilometers to be able to act immediately and stifle any type of reactivation that occurs. would produce'”. According to the latest report provided by the authorities during this press conference, nearly 15,000 hectares have been affected on the island, the largest of the Canaries, and 115 firefighters and soldiers are hard at work leading this battle against the fire, aided by 16 aircraft.
In 2022, 300,000 hectares were destroyed by more than 500 fires in Spain, a record in Europe, according to the European Forest Fire Information System (Effis). Since the start of the current year, the country has recorded 340 fires which have ravaged nearly 76,000 hectares, according to Effis.
According to experts, extreme weather phenomena have intensified recently due to global warming, responsible for more frequent, longer and more intense heat waves and periods of drought.
Spain, which has been experiencing its fourth heat wave of the summer since Sunday, is on the front line in Europe in the face of global warming and its consequences.